Disclaimer/author's notes: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto, not me. Ino and Sakura are supposed to be about sixteen in this and are probably OOC? Warnings for discussion of rape and violence. Ummm, this turned out a lot darker than I meant it to be...I don't really know what this is. Also, "It's a Mad World" should be updated some time in the next two weeks.
A shinobi's body is their weapon; this means a kunoichi's body is a weapon as well. Many people—men with rough hands mostly, though sometimes silly boys filled with hormones and far, far too much blood as well—forget this, Ino knows.
Ino steps out of the shower and looks at last of the blood washing down the drain. Not hers: good. That is good, right? She feels blank. Empty. A perfect killer. Ino has always strived for perfection, whether it be her looks or her jutsu. She graduated first out of everyone else in the Academy, after all. Nothing less can be expected out of her father's daughter.
Her wet hair sticks to her breasts. Ino sighs. She supposes she should dry or brush it now.
Ino eyes the blurred image of a naked body shown in the dirty mirror before her.
A pale white scar slashes right there across top of her right breast—a breast that is pushing and sprouting its way out her body like unwanted weeds—barely visible but still there marking her skin: bad, very bad. She had always thought she'd want bosoms like the ones in the romance books she and Sakura had read. Now she has indifferent to her bosom's presence and has a scar on top of them. Not very noticeable but still. It's there—right above her heart.
Pity. People say Ino's body is her greatest weapon. Her friends used to say by the time Ino was grown she would be able to bring any man to his knees. Except the errant Uchiha Sasuke, but Ino doesn't dwell on that. The rumors all say he's gay or frigid anyways. Also, there's the Uchiha insanity that's apparently genetic. Pity about that too. There was a time when Ino thought he and she could make the most beautiful babies.
Well, there's always Choji, but Ino now decides not to put Choji through that. She could never love him, or any man, she thinks, because all men are fools or monsters. Not that women are much better; she's proof of that. Ino is fond enough of Choji the thought of him unhappy makes her wince. Internally. Her mother says she is unsightly when she frowns. Also, it will give her premature wrinkles.
Ino stares at her reflection and does not react as Sakura enters the room timid as a mouse. Strange; between the two of them, Sakura is the bold one these days. Sakura can punch straight through a man—Ino thinks of the sweet, gentle girl Sakura used to be and wishes she is using hyperbole right now—and probably fix him all better with her healing hands.
Sakura waits a minute before asking the dreaded question. "Did he rape you?"
It's a fair question. Other than the cut above her heart, Ino was covered in torn clothing and bruises when Sakura healed her. Statistics taught to them in the Academy were that one in four kunoichi are raped—this made note of what was done by the enemies; whatever happened with kunoichi with their comrades is left unmentioned, though Ino's mother said, including this, the statistics are closer to one in three—in their life-time.
Ino hadn't paid attention at the time, but now she thinks of the underlying lesson beneath these facts: kunoichi aren't the only ones that can use their bodies as weapons; sometime kunoichi's bodies can be used against them. Fear tactics during an interrogation and sometimes the enemy's need to control and all. Ino wonders what Konoha-nin do to their enemies; she decides she doesn't like thinking about this. She fights for Konoha and some things are better left unknown.
"No, Forehead, don't be stupid," Ino hears herself reply, "the mission was to act as support for an agent in the Grass capitol while she got some info and completed an assassination. Except when I got there the agent was … incapacitated. She was going to sneak in as domestic help so I took her place. Should have been easy enough."
Sakura shifts uncomfortably and runs fingers through sweaty pink hair. Ino decides to continue. "Anyways, the target was a nuke-nin that defected from here back during the Sound invasion; he'd gotten tired of killing people, he told me. He was just a year older than me. Gorgeous, nice body. He was really sweet but aloof, you know, so it took a few weeks before he agreed to go out for drinks. He wanted to get to know me, he said. So we went to a bar, he got drunk, and I took him back to my apartment and performed the mind-switch jutsu to get the intel I needed while he sleeping after we, after we….then I cut his throat and completed the mission parameters."
Sakura pauses and looks through Ino. "But the ripped clothing, the bruises, the, the –?" Sakura breaks off, putting the tension of that question back into the room.
Ino decides she is glad it was Sakura that found her when she stumbled home after giving the mission report. Daddy still thinks she is his little girl. Sweet man; he's one of the men that can be classified as a fool, though Ino supposes his enemies call him a monster. For some reason, Ino finds this thought hysterical. Her Daddy a killing machine. She, Daddy's girl, making a man think she loved him only to rip his heart out. Figuratively of course. Doing that literally would make to much of a mess.
Ino giggles, "No, silly, I just got chased by some Grass-nin after I completed the mission when I was leaving the city. One of them caught me, and, well, he tried but I cut his throat, too, before he got it out. I'm so good at that: cutting throats."
Ino begins to giggle hysterically again and starts bawling hysterically as well. She notices her reflection's eyes get red, puffy, and ugly like she always does when she cries. Ino hates how she looks when she cries. Not just ugly but weak. Like the troublesome, nagging woman not getting her way Shikamaru often accuses her of being. Silly Shikamaru. If only he knew what she could do, but Ino does not want him to know. Ino decides to nag him the next time she sees him to feel more like herself and wipes away a tear.
Ino decides today is not a good day. She will braid some flowers in her hair later to make herself feel better. When she was little, Ino thought flowers made everything better. Now she knows they just make everything look pretty. They make boys think you are a sweet and silly woman, playing with something delicate because anything harsh would wreck you. Silly boys.
Sakura takes her into her arms and tries to calm her as if murmuring comforting whispers will make Ino feel better. Words won't make Ino feel better. She has a scar that won't go away. She is scarred for life and, and—
"I just fucked man—no a silly boy, his name was Torio—and then killed him, Forehead. He even put flower petals on the bed and lit candles. While I was having sex with him, he said he loved me. While I was killing him, he kept crying me and asking why. Why? I don't know why. Actually, I do know why: 200,000 ryo. That would have bought the dress I wanted at the shop next to the stall that sells dango. I don't want that dress anymore. I don't like killing either anymore, I think. Never have. Torio was sweet and he didn't do anything other than run away because he didn't like killing."
Ino hiccups. It seems strangely inappropriate in this setting. She moves to pull her hair back from her face in a high ponytail. Even if she has a scar slashed across her breast like a brand, her face is still beautiful and will get more beautiful when all the baby fat is gone: good, very good. A kunoichi's body is a weapon.
"And someone tried rape me when I was escaping. Do you know why he found me? I had to take a break from running because I needed to sob like a baby. I cut his throat, and I don't feel bad about doing that though. He tried to rape me; I'd kill him a thousand times more and that wouldn't be enough. And then Ibiki just congratulated me for completing the mission even though he said I am a little too young for that sort of thing. I'm probably going to be sent on more missions like this one a year or two when I'm older, or so he told me. That way Daddy wouldn't freak out, though he still probably will anyways. Do you know that the statistics for kunoichi on seduction missions are one in two? It's not if someone else is going to try to do that to me again, but when it's going to happen."
Ino's body is her village's weapon. She will wield it as they tell her. "Lie back and think of Konoha" is the unofficial saying. Ino traces a finger along her cheekbone and wonders. Perhaps—
"Obviously, I can't say no to a seduction mission in the future. I mean policy says technically I can, but I'm a Yamanaka; intelligence is what we do. But if I had a mission and I got scarred—just a little bit—on the face, do you think anyone would still want me? I don't think they would. This one on my chest is bad enough. Well, I guess I could borrow that healing balm from Hinata to see if that makes it better. Yes, I'll do that. What, Forehead, don't you have anything to say?"
Sakura says nothing. Ino's eyes flicker from her reflection to her fingernails. They are bitten to the quick. Ino considers polishing and buffing them regularly like the older, more sophisticated kunoichi do. She decides not to. She already puts on enough cosmetics on her body every morning, will probably keep putting on even more every morning if she does indeed start doing infiltration missions.
Even if her body is her village's weapon, her hands on her own and do not need to look pretty. Ino kills with her hands.